Willapa Bay > Astoria, OR: 37 Miles

The morning at the KOA site came pretty quick and the KAW-ing of the crows even sooner. Around 6am, three crows perched in a tree above my tent simply went to town announcing to the world that it was day time. It may have been daytime, but it certainly wasn't "get up" time. I actually did get up around 8:30 when it got too hot to stay in my tent. It was this moment that I met a guy named Yaniv, an Israeli transplant to Vancouver who was doing a bike tour also but down the Pacific Coast. A nice and very talkative guy, we would wind up meeting again later that day in Astoria. After I got packed up, I wandered down the path to the coast with my bike to put my wheel in the water as a very cliché official start to my cross-country journey. The irony is that it was low tide and there was practically no water at all, just a mile of mud/sand that was too thick to really ride though...

A terrible attempt at a jumping picture.

I got underway around noon towards Astoria, thankful that it was a short day of only 36 miles or so. I did stop about 10 miles out from Astoria (at some kind of commercial site. A few dump trucks passed me while stopped) to have a pack of tuna but that was about it. Any lack of scenery the day before was made up for big time on this section. After a little more climbing, the road started pointing downwards and at that moment, you could see the water and the Astoria bridge through a clearing in the trees. Holy spirits lifted, Batman! It was a beautiful sight because a) it was actually beautiful and b) because I was really ready to be done riding for the day. The biggest obstacle of the route was the bridge across the Columbia River. It was narrow, as windy as open water is windy, and relatively busy since it's the main way into Astoria from the North. I manage to stop and take a jumping picture much to my chagrin and probably to the Oregon Department of Transportation… but I now have I photo I don't regret not taking!

My red amber with Yaniv.

About half a mile after the end of the bridge was the Rivershore Motel, which is where Yaniv had made a reservation. Earlier, he had invited me to split the room with him if I wanted and since I didn't have plans otherwise, I stopped there and got a key to his room. I took a shower, washed some clothes in the sink and then headed out to find food. There was a little place just down the road called Sahara Pizza. I remember thinking that it was a funny name for a pizza place, but it hit the spot perfectly. I wrapped up and headed back to the motel. A little while later Yaniv showed back up and after bit more, we both went for dinner at the Wet Dog Cafe, a spot right on the water. After dinner, we (I) wound up talking to a not-quite-homeles man first about ships and then about motorcycles and then we finally back to the motel. Yaniv claimed the entire queen-sized bed, which left me with part of the floor, but he was willing to have me pay for less than half of the room. That amounted to about $25. Fine.